A Guwahati sessions court directed Assam Police to unfreeze nine financial accounts belonging to Shyamkanu Mahanta, a key accused in singer Zubeen Garg's death, citing procedural violations under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS). The court found that police failed to obtain magistrate approval before freezing accounts and did not report the action afterward as mandated by law. Mahanta faces murder and conspiracy charges in connection with Garg's September 2025 death.
Zubeen Garg, a superstar singer, died in September 2025 while attending the Northeast India Festival Singapore organized by Shyamkanu Mahanta. The death triggered nationwide outcry and intense media scrutiny. On October 1, 2025, after returning from Singapore, Mahanta was arrested and charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, extortion, cheating, and destruction of evidence alongside three others. Within days of Garg's death, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma publicly announced that Mahanta's bank accounts had been frozen. A chargesheet was subsequently filed, and the Enforcement Directorate registered a parallel money-laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On March 3, 2026, the Guwahati sessions court heard Mahanta's petition seeking unfreezing of six savings accounts, two credit cards, and one current account operated under a trust he manages. All accounts had been frozen during the police investigation. The court, after recording arguments from both Mahanta's counsel and the Special Public Prosecutor, directed Assam Police to unfreeze the accounts and credit cards. The court found that Assam Police violated Section 106(3) and Section 107 of the BNSS by failing to report the account freezing to the jurisdictional magistrate and by not obtaining prior magistrate approval before freezing accounts, as mandatory under law.
This judgment establishes critical procedural safeguards against arbitrary police action in financial investigations. The ruling signals that even in high-profile criminal cases, law enforcement cannot bypass judicial oversight for asset freezing. For Mahanta, the unfreezing provides immediate relief—his family had faced severe financial hardship paying daily expenses and banking obligations while accounts remained frozen for five months. However, the decision does not exonerate Mahanta; he remains charged with serious offenses and the Enforcement Directorate's parallel PMLA investigation continues independently. This precedent will likely impact similar cases involving asset freezing nationwide, requiring police to obtain prior magistrate approval.
The unfreezing takes effect immediately, and Assam Police must process the de-freeze orders within 5-7 business days. Mahanta's accounts and credit cards will become operational, though potential income restrictions may remain if other courts impose conditions. The parallel Enforcement Directorate investigation under PMLA continues with no bearing on this court's order. The murder trial in the sessions court is scheduled to resume on April 15, 2026. Legal observers will watch whether the prosecution appeals this procedural ruling or whether other accused in the case file similar petitions for account unfreezing based on this precedent.